Well, it looks like it is a two way chase between ILL55 and Florida and ILL55 finally got ahead of Florida as everyone had a mediocre pick with Bowyer, Gordon, and Jimmie all biting the dust this week. now we head into Homestead though, which has proved to be a very unpredictable race.

+2 Handicap: 13th-20th

Kyle Busch

Brian Vickers (new to handicap list, avg. finish puts him at 14th)

Mark Martin (new to handicap list, avg. finish puts him at 15th)

Ryan Newman

Carl Edwards

Paul Menard

Joey Logano

Marcos Ambrose+4 Handicap: 21st- 28th

Jeff Burton

Jamie McMurray

Aric Almirola

Juan Pablo Montoya

Regan Smith

Bobby LaBonte

Kurt Busch

David Gilliland (+6 to +4 handicap

+6 Handicap: 29th- 35th

David Ragan (+4 to +6 handicap)

Travis Kvapil

Casey Mears

David Reutimann (32nd by avg finish)

Landon Cassill

Dave Blaney

Sam Hornish Jr.

+8 handicap: Anyone Below 35th

As per usual during the last race of the year, there is no bonus, just the fact that you can get that +2 for picking the right driver, good luck to all.

(Drivers crossed out indicate drivers you can no longer use.)(AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PICKS, drivers will be named that one person or nobody can use, so make sure to check the bottom as well as next to your name to know who you can't pick.)

Well, we are now getting into crunch time in the chase, and we can see that with both Jimmie and Brad fighting hard for the title. The question is, will we see Jimmie and Brad at the top of the pack again, and will they take eachother out? Only time will tell, but for now, lets check our standings:

Roushfenwayguy (GHOST PICKS)- 224 (85) (+13)

Floridawhite- 202 (82) (+15)

ILL55INI- 199 (88) (+10)

Bradman- 181 (74) (+8)

Fsu1dogs- 173 (87) (+6) (More than doubled his score that was from a combined two weeks.)

So it looks like we are starting to see three different groups, the Ghost pick group, which is proving that if he wasn't eliminated he may have won this whole thing... Florida and ILL55, where they are seperated by only 3 points! And then Bradman and FSU, but even they are 21 and 29 points off the lead, respectively, just avoiding a bad driver that everyone chooses could be the difference for them.

+2 Handicap: 13th-20th

Kyle Busch

Brian Vickers (new to handicap list, avg. finish puts him at 14th)

Mark Martin (new to handicap list, avg. finish puts him at 15th)

Ryan Newman

Carl Edwards

Paul Menard

Joey Logano

Marcos Ambrose+4 Handicap: 21st- 28th

Jeff Burton

Jamie McMurray

Aric Almirola

Juan Pablo Montoya

Regan Smith

Bobby LaBonte

Kurt Busch

David Gilliland (+6 to +4 handicap

+6 Handicap: 29th- 35th

David Ragan (+4 to +6 handicap)

Travis Kvapil

Casey Mears

David Reutimann (32nd by avg finish)

Landon Cassill

Dave Blaney

Sam Hornish Jr.

+8 handicap: Anyone Below 35th

Using a recycled bonus, once again you must choose a third driver (this can be a driver that you used previously in this segment, just not one you are using this race) and predict their exact position of finish.

(Drivers crossed out indicate drivers you can no longer use.)(AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PICKS, drivers will be named that one person or nobody can use, so make sure to check the bottom as well as next to your name to know who you can't pick.)

Well, since I am not really included, there is only 13 points seperating the top 3 right now, so it is still anyones game... although these are pretty dissapointing scores so far if the leader is averaging 56 points without bonuses. Of course, our mini chase only has 3 more races, which is still more than half, so even FSU can catch up, but he needs to avoid the bad side of the doghouse to stay alive.

+2 Handicap: 13th-20th

Kyle Busch

Brian Vickers (new to handicap list, avg. finish puts him at 14th)

Mark Martin (new to handicap list, avg. finish puts him at 15th)

Ryan Newman

Carl Edwards

Paul Menard

Joey Logano

Marcos Ambrose+4 Handicap: 21st- 28th

Jeff Burton

Jamie McMurray

Aric Almirola

Juan Pablo Montoya

Regan Smith

Bobby LaBonte

Kurt Busch

David Gilliland (+6 to +4 handicap

+6 Handicap: 29th- 35th

David Ragan (+4 to +6 handicap)

Travis Kvapil

Casey Mears

David Reutimann (32nd by avg finish)

Landon Cassill

Dave Blaney

Sam Hornish Jr.

+8 handicap: Anyone Below 35th

Bonus is guessing how many drivers that are in the chase finish this race in the top 12. The margin will be very slim.

+5 for the exact answer, +3 for 1 off, +1 for 2-3 off, no more if you are beyond that.

(Drivers crossed out indicate drivers you can no longer use.)(AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PICKS, drivers will be named that one person or nobody can use, so make sure to check the bottom as well as next to your name to know who you can't pick.)

http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/messages/chrono/39725978#We are starting to get down to the wire, and all these people racing their tires off is showing it... alright, so that might have been because the track was newly paved, but it still really shook up the standings, oh and by the way, the correct bonus was 1... that's right, only Dale Earnhardt, because he didn't race, got the point for people, but other than that this track shook up the standings in more ways than one. Now lets see how the standings are after week 1:

1.) Floridawhite- 69 (+7) The only one to avoid the mess that was Greg Biffle.)

2.) ILL55INI- 59 (+3)

Roushfenwayguy (GHOST PICKS)- 58 (+5)

3.) Bradman- 54 (+1)

4.) Fsu1dogs- 40 (+2) (Don't worry, you are not alone)

So the standings are starting to show some difference, with many picking Biffle, Mark Martin, or both... although Mark looked really good. Anyways, now we will see if Martinsville is any more predictable, and the battle plans people have for this track. Is it worth it to burn both the good drivers of Jimmie/Denny now, or save them? I know one thing though, only Florida can pick Greg Biffle.

+2 Handicap: 13th-20th

Kyle Busch

Brian Vickers (new to handicap list, avg. finish puts him at 14th)

Mark Martin (new to handicap list, avg. finish puts him at 15th)

Ryan Newman

Carl Edwards

Paul Menard

Joey Logano

Marcos Ambrose+4 Handicap: 21st- 28th

Jeff Burton

Jamie McMurray

Aric Almirola

Juan Pablo Montoya

Regan Smith

Bobby LaBonte

Kurt Busch

David Gilliland (+6 to +4 handicap

+6 Handicap: 29th- 35th

David Ragan (+4 to +6 handicap)

Travis Kvapil

Casey Mears

David Reutimann (32nd by avg finish)

Landon Cassill

Dave Blaney

Sam Hornish Jr.

+8 handicap: Anyone Below 35th

The bonus for this week, well this will be fun since we are at Martinsville, guess how many drivers finish on the lead lap. +5 for the exact amount, +3 if you are 1-3 off, +2 for 4-6 off, +1 for 7-10 off, nada for any more than that. So as long as people get lapped, I'm guessing everyone should get at least 1 point.

I still don't want to burn Jimmie or Denny just yet, but I would be stupid not to go with a Hendrick driver not named Kasey Kahne, so I will go with Jeff Gordon. I will also side with Clint Bowyer, as he is a pretty safe bet to reach a top 10 here, and he is fourth in the chase for now.

(Drivers crossed out indicate drivers you can no longer use.)(AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PICKS, drivers will be named that one person or nobody can use, so make sure to check the bottom as well as next to your name to know who you can't pick.)

Bradman- 246 (84) (+20) (Too bad all these points were just to avoid elimination, but has momentum going into the finals.)

Fsu1dogs- 231 (82) (+9)

Floridawhite- 221 (67) (+12)

SAFE

ILL55INI- 202 (88) (+21) (This week right here, shows that you should never give up.)

Roushfenwayguy (GHOST PICKS)- 198 (71) (+18)

ELIMINATED

Tenacfan- 182 (49) (-3) (Refer to Sfrye's comment.)

Sfrye- 175 (53) (-3) (Even with a good bonus score, it would have been an uphill battle.)

Segment 3: This is the final stretch, and the hardest as far as picks go. You must change your drivers each and every week, and you may not use a driver more than once. In other words, you must choose 10 unique drivers, so choose wisely, and plan ahead, I will keep a tally of the drivers each person still alive used. The champion will be decided after the final race from the final group of only four people.And yes, this means that only the last 5 races matter for getting first in the standings.

I reccomend all of you plan out your lineups for the whole chase so that you do not run into conflicts, as I already have my list all set.

+2 Handicap: 13th-20th

Kyle Busch

Brian Vickers (new to handicap list, avg. finish puts him at 14th)

Mark Martin (new to handicap list, avg. finish puts him at 15th)

Ryan Newman

Carl Edwards

Paul Menard

Joey Logano

Marcos Ambrose+4 Handicap: 21st- 28th

Jeff Burton

Jamie McMurray

Aric Almirola

Juan Pablo Montoya

Regan Smith

Bobby LaBonte

Kurt Busch

David Gilliland (+6 to +4 handicap

+6 Handicap: 29th- 35th

David Ragan (+4 to +6 handicap)

Travis Kvapil

Casey Mears

David Reutimann (32nd by avg finish)

Landon Cassill

Dave Blaney

Sam Hornish Jr.

+8 handicap: Anyone Below 35th

For the bonus, guess how many drivers finish in the EXACT position they are in the chase standings WHERE ONLY CHASERS count (so someone that finishes 11th of the chasers counts as 11th, even if they finish 32nd. Dale Earnhardt Jr. will finish last... since he won't race, so 1 is guarenteed.)

+5 if you guess exactly right

+3 for within 1

+1 for 2-3

0 for 4 or more

For my picks this week, I am going to burn Keselowski right now, as I feel this is his one shot to build more of a lead before the other two sharks get to their best tracks. I will also go with Greg Biffle, because RFR is good at Kansas, Homestead, and Texas, so I will try to use what I believe will be the best, one for each of those 3 tracks.

Sorry I've been a busy college boy this week with first exams coming in all directions. Anyways, Kenseth won, and Jr. is out, so remember DO NOT PICK Jr. Regan Smith luckily is taking over for his spot, so I will keep his handicap the same. But that big one took out so many drivers, this is sure to be a shook up standings. How much did those bonus picks help? Lets find out:

6.) ILL55INI- 114 (76) (+18) (Got saved 17 points with Kyle, but still has a long rope to climb to safety.)

Segment 2: You are allowed to keep one driver from week 3-4 or 4-5, but not both. If you recycle a driver, you can't reuse them (Virtually this means that if you choose a driver week 3 and get rid of them week 4, you can't use them week 5). In addition, you are not allowed to keep the same driver during all 3 races. These are similar rules to weeks 3-14, but different since there are 3 weeks here instead of two. Just like segment 1, the bottom 2 will be eliminated this segment.

Handicap lists are revamped, and will stick for segments 1 and 2 of the chase (I doubt much will chase for segment 3 though). The lists have also been increased to include one more driver in each bracket, which means that the top 13 are taken into considering, or in other words all non-chase drivers.

+2 Handicap: 13th-20th

Kyle Busch (new to handicap list)

Brian Vickers (new to handicap list, avg. finish puts him at 14th)

Mark Martin (new to handicap list, avg. finish puts him at 15th)

Carl Edwards (new to handicap list)

Marcos Ambrose

Ryan Newman (new to handicap list)

Paul Menard

Joey Logano

+4 Handicap: 21st- 28th

Jeff Burton (+2 to +4 handicap)

Jamie McMurray (+2 to +4 handicap)

Juan Pablo Montoya (+2 to +4 handicap)

Aric Almirola

Regan Smith

Bobby LaBonte

Kurt Busch

Casey Mears

+6 Handicap: 29th- 35th

David Gilliland

David Ragan (+4 to +6 handicap)

Travis Kvapil

David Reutimann (32nd by avg finish)

Landon Cassill

Dave Blaney

Sam Hornish Jr. (takes over A.J.'s spot)

+8 handicap: Anyone Below 35th

The bonus for this week is to guess the amount of cautions throughout the race, however this bonus has a very small window for error since this stat usually stays at or below 10... not that it can't go higher, but there isn't much variety. Bonus figures are:

+5 if you guess the amount exactly+3 if you are 1 off+1 if you are 2-3 offNone if you 4 or more off.

Hopefully all those that try get at least 1 point.

Well... I can't use Jimmie, but I can keep Brad, so I'm going with Brad and Kasey Kahne.

NOTE (Drivers listed first can not be used by you this week, drivers listed after the ____ indicates that you can use one, but not both. If no drivers are listed after the ____, this means you used one driver two weeks in a row, so as long as you don't use the same week 3 drivers, you are safe to have any lineup (week 4 lineups with Jr. are also not shown since you won't pick him this week.)

OK, so Brad Keselowski won... again... but there is still a long way to go, including the big track, Talladega. So without further ado, lets get started with the first week standings... that look pretty small considering that we only have 7 people left... and also we only had 11 lead changes, pretty boring from that standpoint especially since the bonus will barely help anyone because of the low changing lead:

PODIUM

Bradman- 83 (+3)

Fsu1dogs- 82 (+3)

Floridawhite- 81 (+6) (Only one to get within 5 of the bonus.)

55 CLUB

Tenacfan- 66 (+3)

DANGER ZONE

Roushfenwayguy (GHOST PICKS)- 53 (+3)

Sfrye- 50 (0) (Well, Kenseth was not able to avoid the Monster this time...)

ILL55INI- 38 (+1) (The chase has not been kind to RFR drivers this year.)

So with two races to go, there is a major gap between almost everyone except the top 3, can the top 3 keep their momentum going to have a feel easy week 5, or will some of them fall down to where our lower scorers are, anything is possible at Talladega!

Segment 2: You are allowed to keep one driver from week 3-4 or 4-5, but not both. If you recycle a driver, you can't reuse them (Virtually this means that if you choose a driver week 3 and get rid of them week 4, you can't use them week 5). In addition, you are not allowed to keep the same driver during all 3 races. These are similar rules to weeks 3-14, but different since there are 3 weeks here instead of two. Just like segment 1, the bottom 2 will be eliminated this segment.

Handicap lists are revamped, and will stick for segments 1 and 2 of the chase (I doubt much will chase for segment 3 though). The lists have also been increased to include one more driver in each bracket, which means that the top 13 are taken into considering, or in other words all non-chase drivers.

+2 Handicap: 13th-20th

Kyle Busch (new to handicap list)

Brian Vickers (new to handicap list, avg. finish puts him at 14th)

Mark Martin (new to handicap list, avg. finish puts him at 15th)

Carl Edwards (new to handicap list)

Marcos Ambrose

Ryan Newman (new to handicap list)

Paul Menard

Joey Logano

+4 Handicap: 21st- 28th

Jeff Burton (+2 to +4 handicap)

Jamie McMurray (+2 to +4 handicap)

Juan Pablo Montoya (+2 to +4 handicap)

Aric Almirola

Regan Smith

Bobby LaBonte

Kurt Busch

Casey Mears

+6 Handicap: 29th- 35th

David Gilliland

David Ragan (+4 to +6 handicap)

Travis Kvapil

David Reutimann (32nd by avg finish)

Landon Cassill

Dave Blaney

Sam Hornish Jr. (takes over A.J.'s spot)

+8 handicap: Anyone Below 35th

My bonus for Talladega has always stayed consistent every year in the chase, and I am not about to change it now. The bonus is the oh so wonderful SAFETY PICK. This one is also the simplest bonus, simply pick another driver that HAS a handicap that you didn't pick as one of your two drivers. That driver will have their handicap score subtracted by 2 (I.E., a +4 driver will only be worth +2, and a +2 with no bonus). If your driver finishes better, scoring wise, than your second best driver, then that driver's score is taken in place of your other driver's score, incase they become a victim of Talladega or something like that. So pick your third driver carefully, he could give you a huge safety net, and also all the bonus points that you get from your driver WILL COUNT as bonus points should you get a tie, but I doubt that will come into effect.

Remember also that you can't pick the same unique lineup as you did before, so if you had Jimmie Johnson last week, you could use him again, but you can't use him week 3 nor can you use the other driver you used last week. Also remember that if you recycle a driver, you can't reuse, so no picking Jimmie Johnson week 3 regardless of whether you use him this week or not... if you used him week 1. Your picks from last week will be spaced away from your name so you know who you picked.

My picks... the last two winners here, Clint Bowyer and Brad Keselowski... the bonus is a bit tougher, but I believe Jeff Burton can actually pull some magic out of the hat here.